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Considerations for Anti-Racist Teaching
Antiracist teaching requires actively identifying and changing racist structures, systems, policies, behaviors, and beliefs. Along with approaches such as feminist pedagogy and abolitionist teaching, it is a form of critical pedagogy that helps prevent exclusive teaching practices as well as help students identify and challenge domination.
Becoming antiracist begins with recognizing the dynamic power of white dominance in higher education in order to reflect on unearned power and privilege of whiteness and then strategize toward creating a more just society. This Adler antiracism library guide has many resources that can help us understand how race operates. At the classroom level, educators then review and revise their pedagogy and curriculum – i.e., teaching methods, environment, and content. Educators reconsider which scholars, perspectives, and voices are heard, who counts as an authority, and what kind of interaction is valued in the classroom.
Faculty and students start in different places on their journey to antiracism. Some are somewhat unaware of racism and social imbalances while others are keenly aware, frustrated, and sometimes exhausted by their seemingly futile efforts to change systems. This in mind, the downloadable checklist below is not prescriptive; it instead frames elements of a journey that can be tracked and assessed.
As with any aspect of teaching, it is essential to consider one's presence and prior understanding, students' backgrounds, the course syllabus, and interactions with students.